A cool breeze blew across the rolling fields of northern Equestria, whistling through the streets of Balk, a town surrounding one of the nation's most famous military and diplomacy outposts. The town built on national pride and peace treaties. Here species from across the globe have come to settle international disputes and commune on world matters. Urban and suburban areas filled with ponies, griffins, dragons and many other species, all surrounding a massive fortress where diplomatic matters and military business are held.
Standing atop the southern wall, shivering slightly in her uniform as she patrolled, was Captain Sally Forth. Though normally happy working night shift patrol, the bluish white unicorn couldn't help but grit her teeth at the winter night that chilled her deep purple armor. She stared out at the streets below her, and at Canterlot in the distance, as her braided, dark red mane danced in the wind. She stood deep in thought, reflecting back on a previous mission. Unfortunately for the pony sneaking up on her, she wasn't so lost in thought that she didn't notice him approaching. In one quick move Sally turned and grabbed the pony by the scruff of his neck, pulling him around quickly enough to knock him off his feet and onto his back in front of her, pinning him down with her hoof and staring down at the stalker. “Woah, Sally hold! It's me, it's Silver.”
Sally looked down at the bat pony pinned to the ground, Lieutenant Silver Lining. She took a step back, removing her hoof from his dark grey chest. Standing up and clearing his throat, he rubbed the sore spot on his chest as he stretched out his wings. “I've warned you before not to sneak up on me Silver,” Sally told him, “And today certainly isn't a good day to break that rule.”
Silver nodded, looking over at his comrade as she stared out at the town, taking a few careful steps forward. “Yeah, sorry. It's good to see you again though. It felt like that week off was going to last forever.”
“Not long enough.” Sally replied, shaking her head. “They take us off duty for a week and then slap a new rookie on us immediately, it pisses me off.”
“I know, I'd like a little more time to grieve too, but orders are orders. At least it's only night patrol, right?” Silver tried to give a reassuring smile, which seemed to go unnoticed. Leaning in slowly, he gave her a soft, caring kiss on the jaw. “Come on, flash me that pretty smile of yours, I haven't seen it for a while.”
The sullen unicorn shook her head, pushing away his affectionate kissing. “Silver, I've told you before not to mix business and pleasure. I'm sorry, but I still need some time, alright?”
Silver looked over at Sally with a disappointed look, nodding slowly. “Yeah, alright. But please, can you just say something, anything to me? I haven't seen you in a week Sally, didn't you miss me?”
Sally looked over at the bat pony before her, nodding softly as she leaned her head in close and gave him a loving kiss on his dark lips. Silver returned the kiss in kind, the two wrapped up in a passionate moment of reunion. It felt like an eternity to the pair before they broke the kiss, and Sally looked into Silver's eyes. “I missed you. I wanted you close to me so I could hold you and cry, to have you there to listen and help me.”
Emotion started to well up in Sally's eyes as she spoke. Silver wrapped a hoof around her as his lover buried her muzzle in his shoulder, rubbing her back. “Hey, it's alright baby. Everything's going to be okay.”
After a few moments of crying, Sally was able to take a deep breath and calm down, straightening up and wiping her eyes. “Thank you.” She gave Silver another soft kiss before she started toward the steps down to the courtyard. “Come on, Athens and the newbie are probably waiting for us by the gate.”
Silver smiled softly, giving her a nod as he stood behind for a moment. He couldn't resist taking a moment to watch the officer's flank, seeing her coat of arms cutie mark shake from side to side as she walked, starting to follow behind her down the stairs. “Yes ma'am.”
The courtyard could be a very intimidating place at night. In the light of the moon above, topiary and statues cast shadows across the ground. Unphased by the dark figures around him stood a blue and gold griffin clad in night shift armor and a medical bag, Lieutenant Athens. As he waited by the stairs, he finally heard the hoofsteps of his comrades making their way down to him. Athens smiled and gave Sally a salute as she came down. “Good to see you again Sally.”
Sally returned the salute before giving the griffin a hug. “Same to you Athens.” She took a look around, seeing nopony else nearby. “Is the rookie running late?”
Athens shook his head, beckoning them to follow, the group starting toward the southern gate. “He's at the gate, I saw him when I flew in. Caught sight of you guys on the wall as well, figured I'd wait for you at the steps, have a little reunion before we met the new guy.”
Sally nodded, leading the trio toward the gate, a tan earth pony clad in night shift armor. As the three approached, the colt saluted, straightening up his neck. “Private Iron Sights reporting for duty Captain.”
“At ease rookie, no need to be so formal.” Sally told him, noticing an immediate change in posture as she told him this.
“Yes ma'am.” he replied, relaxing. “Nice to meet you Captain Sally Forth, Lieutenants Silver Lining and Athens, glad to be part of the team.”
The three nodded to him, following Sally as she made her way onto the streets of the town. The four patrolled together, keeping their eyes out for crime in the bustling night life of Balk. Sally led the pack as the three guys followed behind, Iron Sights in between his two senior officers. “So, where are you from rookie?” Silver asked.
“Appleloosa, but I trained at Fetlock military base near Baltimare.” He replied, smiling over at his superior. “What about you sir, where do, um, your people come from?”
Silver couldn't help but chuckle at the wording as he reminisced of home. “I came from a bat pony village in the forest surrounding Smokey Mountain, Eclipse. Studied here in Balk with Captain Sally.”
Iron nodded, looking down at his walking hooves. “So, is this the whole job? I was expecting...something more exciting.”
“Don't worry, there's plenty of excitement to the job.” Athens explained with a chuckle. “we're just on night duty for a couple of weeks, I'm sure they'll give us a nice, heart pounding mission in time.”
“Oh, why are we on night duty? I mean, isn't that a job for the local police?”
Silver shook his head, tapping on his armor. “We are the local police kid, the town saves money splitting soldiers between military missions and night shifts.”
“As for why us,” Athens continued.
“It's because we've got a rookie to get integrated into the team.” Sally spoke up, still looking ahead. “And because we lost a good soldier not long ago.”
The air became dreary as Sally finished, a sad look fell into Silver and Athens' eyes. Iron Sights looked around, shaking his head as he followed. “Well, I mean, they couldn't have been that good.”
The group stopped in place, Sally grit her teeth, facing forward as the pair of guys looked disapprovingly at the private. “Excuse me?” Athens asked, trying to tame his frustration.
“Well, I mean,” Iron started, looking at the group around him. “They died right? How good can you be if you go and get yourself killed.”
Silver opened his bat wings. Glaring at Iron, tense and ready to strike, his fangs bared. “You better shut your-”
“Stand down Silver.” Sally raised her voice, turning around and standing between the two. On command, Silver took a step back, still looking angry as Sally looked back at him. “I am the commanding officer here, I will handle this.”
Silver nodded as a look of relief washed over Iron Sights. “Thank you Captain, for a second there I-” His thought was interrupted as Sally bucked him against the nearby wall.
He coughed as Sally approached at lightning speed, putting her foreleg against his throat. Her muscle control was astounding, able to keep him pinned, a mere pound of pressure shy of choking him. “Listen carefully rookie, I don't repeat myself.” She told him, her icy eyes staring into his fearful ones. “Those comments may be acceptable at Fetlock, but here in Balk we show respect and admiration for our fallen comrades. The next time I hear you disrespect the dead I will take it upon myself to reprimand you, do I make myself clear Private?”
Iron Sights could only nod as Sally released him from the wall, brushing off her armor. Iron took a heavy breath and shook his head. “S-sorry Captain, I-”
“Help!” A mare screamed out from a nearby stall as a stallion ran off down the street, running through the crowd. “He stole my money pouch!”
The group began to run after the stallion. “Athens, Silver, take the skies, cut him off.” Sally commanded, galloping at top speed as the pair spread their wings. “Rookie, you're with me.”
“Yes ma'am” Iron replied as he galloped, doing his best to keep up with his commanding officer. Through various turns and side streets they gave chase, Silver and Athens keeping sights from the air, waiting for the perfect time to get ahead of the robber. Sally grit her teeth as her horn lit up on her head, taking aim she fired a bolt of magic from her horn, striking the thief. A wave of magic overcame the stallion, his legs went limp as his paralysed body tripped and rolled, landing him on his back. Sally slid to a stop in front of the criminal, levitating a set of four piece cuffs and affixing them his hooves. Iron Sights stared in awe at what he just witnessed as Athens and Silver landed and helped her stand their target up. A quick flash of magic relieved the paralysis, allowing the colt to stand on his own hooves while Sally picked up the money bag, making sure the bits were still inside. She nodded to the other three. “Silver, you and I will take the thief to lock up.” She ordered, tossing the cash bag to Athens. “Iron, Athens, take the money back to the booth he stole it from.”
Athens saluted, bringing Iron in tow as the group split up to their tasks. As the griffon and the rookie rounded the corner, Iron was clearly still in awe of what he just witnessed. “Wow, that was....I mean, Captain Sally has astounding magical power.”
“That she does.” Athens nodded, making his way back toward the robbed stall. “There isn't another Captain in the military I'd rather follow than her.”
It was a quick walk back to the stall, an appreciative mare ready to welcome them as Athens set the money down on the counter. “Oh thank you so much. Please, Have a couple of pears on the house.” she told them, sliding two pieces of fruit across the counter.
“Thank you very much.” Athens told her as he took his reward, Iron Sights taking his own. The two made their way down the street to a bench, sitting down to eat. “Well, I could certainly get used to this.” Iron told the griffin as he bit into his piece of fruit.
“I wouldn't if I were you.” Athens warned. “Don't expect a reward for every job well done.”
The private nodded, taking another bite of his pear.
Silver shut the door behind him as he stepped out of lock up behind Sally. “Well, that's another one behind bars.” he said, smiling.
“Yeah. Come on, we need to get back to Athens and the rookie.” She replied, starting down the road.
Silver grabbed her hoof, pulling her back toward him. “Sally, wait up a second.” he told her. “Can we talk?”
Sally froze for a moment, looking at the worried look on his face. “Alright, what's on your mind Silver?”
“Don't you think you went a little far?” he asked. “You know a paralysis spell isn't something you should use carelessly. One bad shot and you could have stopped his heart. Athens and I were ready to move in front of him, we could have corralled him into a dead end.”
“I knew what I was doing Silver!” she replied, defensiveness in her voice, tears welling up in her eyes. “I wasn't taking a risk on letting him get away. You remember what happened last time I didn't take every precaution!”
Silver was taken aback for a moment. Finally, he sighed and wiped the tears from his superior's eyes. “Sally, it wasn't your fault. You can't blame yourself for what happened to Spring, everything about the operation suggested they didn't use photographs, didn't know what the contact would look like. It was the intel-”
“The intel that I gathered. My contacts, my information, my seal of approval.”
Silver froze up, trying to think of a reply to calm down the upset mare in front of him. With a sigh, he took her hoof in his, giving her cheek a soft kiss. “You didn't know, the contact was trustworthy, everyone was on board with the plan, everyone approved the intel, Spring even approved it. You can't blame yourself for what happened, It was my fault too, everyone's fault. Don't bear the burden alone.”
Sally looked up at the stallion in front of her, staring into his reassuring eyes. She buried her face into his chest, starting to cry. Silver said nothing as he held her close, letting her cry it out.
As the night winded down, the group returned to the barracks to strip out of their armor. “So rookie,” Athens asked, “How did you like your first night on the job?”
“well...it was a learning experience.” he replied, putting his armor away in his locker. “Pretty quiet though. Aside from that thief we chased all we really did was reprimand teenagers.”
“Yeah, patrol isn't the most exciting part of the job, but it's nice for relaxing after a rough mission.” Silver told him, walking around the corner to Sally's locker.
Sally slipped out of her armor, sealing it away in her locker. At the sound of hoofsteps nearby, she turned to look at Silver approaching. He smiled, walking up close and leaning against the lockers. “So, should I wait up for you at the gate while you report? I've got some hay pizza at my place we could split.”
“Sorry, it's been a long, emotional night.” she replied, giving him a loving nuzzle. “I'm just going to report to the Colonel and go home to rest.”
Silver nodded, kissing her nose softly before walking away, meeting back up with the guys to leave for home. Sally broke off from them in the halls and made her way to the military offices. She stopped at a door, knocking on it. “Come in.” came a voice from behind it.
She stepped into the well lit office, a blue unicorn with a black mane sat behind the desk in military attire, Colonel Semper Fi. “Not much to report tonight Colonel.” Sally told him. “One major arrest and some delinquent teenagers.”
Semper nodded, writing down some notes as she spoke. “Very good Captain. What are your impressions on Private Iron Sights?”
“He has potential sir, but he needs to earn a little more respect and admiration for the position.”
The Colonel nodded. “Very well, and what about yourself Captain?”
“I'm fine Colonel. If that's all then I'd like to make my way home now.”
The Colonel stared across the room at Sally for a moment, noting the blank, professional look on her face before nodding. Sally saluted and made her way out, shutting the door behind her and making her way home.
Sally sorted through her keys at the door to her apartment on the east end of town, finally finding the one for her front door and unlocking it. As the door swung open she was met with the feel of tiny hooves wrapping around her own foreleg. Looking down, she saw a unicorn foal with a bright smile on her face, hugging her leg. “Mommy you're home!” the young foal said.
“That's right sweetheart.” she replied, picking up the foal and settling her down on her back. “Mommy's home, were you good for Auntie Scotch?”
“She was perfectly behaved.” came another voice from the direction of the couch. Sitting there was Sally's older sister Scotch Neat, greenish white with a punkish red mane, a rocks glass on her flank. “Just like her mommy used to be.”
Sally smiled, setting her daughter down on the ground. “Winter Breeze, sweetheart, mommy has to talk to Auntie Scotch. Would you please go play in your room?”
With a nod Winter made her way to her room, and Sally sat back on the couch with a sigh. “How are you doing sis?” Scotch asked.
“Tired, but otherwise fine.” she replied, rubbing her eyes. “Thanks again for babysitting, I can count on you for the rest of the week right?”
Scotch nodded, smiling as she stood up, walking with her sister to Sally's room. “Get some rest, I'll stick around while you're sleeping.”
Sally nodded, climbing into bed as Scotch shut the door. Staring up at the ceiling, she let her mind wander for a moment. Turning her head, she looked at a photo on her night stand, a photo of her team. Athens stood on the far left with a grin on his face, with Silver and Sally in the center holding hooves. On the far right side, with a friendly arm around Sally's back, was a pegasus pony with a sky blue coat and a cloudy, white mane. Sally stared at the pegasus for a little while, sighing and putting down the picture. “Spring Showers.” she said to herself, shutting her eyes. “I'm so sorry.”